Temporary end closure for locomotive valve chambers



July 17, 1923.

1.462.113 O. KUHNER I TEMPORARY END CLOSURE FOR LOCOMOTIVE VALVECHAMBERS Filed Oct. 14 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 06 car Kalb/befo. KUHNERTEMPORARY END CLOSURE F'OR LOCOMOTIVE VALVE CHAMBERS Filed Oct. 14. 19202 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oscar Kuhn/er.

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provideadevice of this Patented July 17,1923. I

osoAaxugerunn'jor COLUMBUS, oriro.

TEMPORARY- mrnoLosUnn-ron. Looor/ro'rrvn VALVE our-interns.

Application filed octe s-14,1920; iSerial N5. 416,793.

To all whom it mwyooncern."

Be it known that I, OsoAn IUl1NER, citizen of the UnitedStatesfresidingflt Columbus, in thecounty of Franklin and; StateofImprovements in Temporary End Closures for Locomotive .Valve Chambers,of 1 which 1 the followingisa specification, Thisinventio'n relates'toanimproved end closing device for locomotive valve chambers and has as oneof itsprincipalobjects to provide a device of this characterwherebytheisteam ports of thevalve chambers eta under pressure may beintroduced into the locomotive boiler for hydraulicly testing the'superheater, header and SlZGEl-IIIPIPQS.

Theflinventwn has assa further objectito 2 eliminate the necessity atremoving the locomotive smoke box, irontpsteain. pipes and otherpartsnecessaryw toi permit removal of said-pipesas is now commonly practiced,in

orderjttf make sure that the superheater, 2i superheater'headerandsteanr'pipes are n propersconditionh a a t v i I,

' 'Andtheinvention' has asva still'further object to provide a devicewhich may be readily applied and removed and which will so beconstructed to meet: the conditions of valve chambers before as well asafter being rebored. r I v ,v Other andinc'idental objects will appearhereinafter; i 35 Inthe'drawings: a Figured is alongitudinal sectionalview showing my improveddevice in position within ia locomotive valvechamber of con- 've ntional design. H o ,t Figure 2 "s an end elevationofthe device. Figure 3 is a sectional view onth e line 3.3 o'f Fig lre1, looking in the directio of thearrows, and l v Figure l'is an edgeelevationof one e f/the 5 expansible closurerings employed. a

In carrying the invention 'n'to effect, I employ abody baro'rrod lQp'rovided at its ends with reduced squared (extensions form-f inghandles 11. Threaded upon the end poro tions of the harem stop nuts 12and thread- Y ed upon the bar to abut said .nuts are frustdconiealexpanders 13havin'g the smaller ends r thereofpresentedoutwardly: Freely fitting character which will upon the bar andslidable thereon are annula-r heads 1& having fiat inner faces andcounter-bored centrally at their outer sides tog 'pro-vide ground seats15. Threaded upon 5 Ohio, have invented certain new andguseful the outerend portions of the, bar to coact with said heads are: adjusting nuts16provided at their inner ends with annular bosses 17 ground to fitsaidseatsproviding water-tight joints between the nuts and the heads.The heads are each equippedwith pair of handles 18 so that said headsmaybe readily manipulated. Seating against the 66 p p Y Y I [fiat innerface of each o'fthe heads is aset locomotive may be blockedloii so thatwater dfsegmental clamps 19.] As particularly shownin Figure 3' of thedrawings, four clamps 'are 'comprised in eachset and enthroughsuitableradial slots in the clamps are cap screws 20sl1dably-connecting; the clamps with theheads. At their inner ends theclamps are formed with beveled, endjwalls mating to definetaperedopenings adapted to receive the expanders 13 while atjtheir outerendpo'rtions, the

clamps are stepped at the inner sides thereof to provide concentricannular seats 21 and is shown in detail in Figure" 4. The rings are, ofcourse; resilient and, as will be ob- 'served said rings areprovidedwith rounded outer corners. Fitting the rounded-outer c corners of therings to overlie said rings are eXpansible annular: gaskets 24:. Thesegaskets may bejformed of any approved ma terial and the outer marginsthereof are arranged to surround the outer edges' of the clamps while heinner margins thereof, e

which lie at substantially rightaiigles to the outer margins,are'iorined to ti t the seats 22 of the clamps lying against the flatinner a drain pipe arranged near the periphery of said head and formedthrough the adjacent clamp of the head opposite the inner end of thepipeis aclrain openingQG elonfaces of the heads 14. Threaded through gatedto accommodate radial movement of the clamp so that said openingwillalways be in communication with said pipe. Inter ,p'osedi'n the pipe isa'shut-ofi'valve 27 and preferablyjarranged beyonds aid valve is acoupling :28 so that the outer endportion of the pipe may, when desired.be readlly detached.

In Figure .1 of the drawings, I have shown my improved device inconjunctionwith a locomotive valve chamber 29 of conventional design. Asis usual, this valve chamher is integrally formed upon a cylinder 30fore been necessary, in order to test and and leading from the endportions of the chamber into the cylinder are steam ports In sofaras isknown, it has heretoexamine the superheater and superheater header, toremove the locomotive smoke'bor front, steam pipes and other partsnecessary to permit removal ofsaid pipes. As is well known, this isatedious and accordingly, an expensive operation. Further, un-

der this procedure, the steam pipes could f not be tested owing to thenecessity for removing said pipes. The present invent on,

therefore, seeks to provide a device whereby not only thesuperheater andsuperheater header may be tested, but also the steam pipes, and in suchmannerthatthe removal of'the locomotive smokebox front, as well as thesteam pipes and otherobstructing parts, will'be rendered unnecessary. Toaccomplish' the test, the headsof the chamber are removed and theva-lvedisplaced when, as shown, the deviceis positioned within the chamber sothatthe heads 15L thereof lie at the inner sides of the steam ports 31,one of the devices being,'of course, em-

' ployed in connection with each valve chamberv of the locomotive. Byrotating the nuts 12, the heads 'may,o'f course, beadjustablypositioned'along the body bar 10 as desired so that theheadswill be properly disposed with respect to the ports. The nuts 16'arethen adjusted for shifting the heads inwardly upon the rod and advancingthe clamps 19 over the expanders 13. This will, of course,"result inmoving the clamps radially outwardand binding the gaskets 24 against thewall oithe chamber; As the clamps are thus shifted outwardly the clampsof each set will, as will be readily understood, separate and therings23 are ac cordingly provided to' extend across the spaces betweenthe outer ends'of the clamps for bridging said spaces and holding thegaskets throughout the entire circumference of each thereor fiat againstthe chamberwall.

@Watentight joints will thus be formed between the heads 14 and thewallotthe chamber so that communication between the steam inlet and thepassages 3lfwill be cut oil. Accordingly, water may then be introducedlnto the locomotive boiler to stand within the superheater, superheaterheader and steam pipesso that by raising the water to, the desiredpressure, the superheater,

superheater header and steam pipes may be tested. Any leakage in theseparts may thus be quickly determined. After the test, the valve 27 isopened and the water drained off through thedrain pipe 25, compressedair being introduced into the boiler for expelling the water therefrom;I accordingly provide a particularly effective device for the purposeset forth and, aswill now be readily understood, a device capable ofadjustment to accommodate the requirements of diiferent valve chambersboth as regards I ength 1 and internal diameter.

is claimed as new is: a g

1'. A device of the character described ineluding a body bar, a headupon the bar.

Having thus described the invention, what radially movable segmentalclamps carried by said head, a ring surrounding theclamps of each head,a gasket surroundingsaid' clamps and'overlying the ring, and means forshiftlng the clamps radially.-

2. A device of thecharacter described including a body bar, a headthereon, L

radially shiftable clamping means associated with the head, a rlngsurrounding sald clam ing means, sealing means overlying said" ring, andmeans for shifting the clamping meansradially. v

A device of the character described including a body bar, a headthereon, radially shiftable clamping. means 'slidably connected to thehead, sealingmeansassooiated with said. clamping-means, and means forshift ing the clamping means radially.

41-. A deviceof the character described including a body bar, a headthereon, radially shiftable clamping meanslying against one side-face ofthe head, sealii'ig means'associated with said clamping means, and"means for shifting the clamping means radially.

5. A device of the "characterdescribed ineluding a body bar, a headthereon, radially shiftable clamping means associated with the head,sealing meanscoacting with the clamping means and secured betweentheclamping means and the head, and means for shifting the clamping meansradially.

(3, A device of the character described'including a body barpa headthereon, clamping means shiftableradially upon the head and formed to,provide an annular seat, a

ringlyinginsaidseat, a gasket overlying the ring coacting with theclamping means, and means 101' shi'lting the clamping means radially. y

character; described inclosing thecchamberat its ends, and meansclamping means, means for shifting 'the associated with the first meansfor draining clamping means radially, and a drain pipe the chamber. V

9. A device of the character described 1' In testimony whereof I aifixmy signa- I 5 including a body bar, a head thereon, ture. a a

- radially movable clamping means carried by v a I the head, sealingmeans associated with said OSCAR KUHNER. [L. s.]

connected with the head. a 10 1

